VRTU: Volume 1
by Rives
Summary: A story featuring team VRTU, takes place during the same period as RWBY Vol 1 and 2. Will the newly formed Team VRTU (virtue) come together as an incredible quartet, or will secrets and personality clashes tear them apart? Plans to continue indefinitely.
1. Chapter 1

The World of Remnant. A world wherein fairytales often told but never believed, hold the power to save-or ruin- everything. But some stories go untold. Unwritten. They wait in the mind of those who beheld them. Those who have beheld nightmares oft refuse to share. For a nightmare is something many ought not inflict upon the world, for what could the world do to deserve it? Yet some bear their nightmares with hem forever. A burden they carry alone, be it through choice or circumstance, they suffer in silence. Others live in relative peace, their dreams fueling their desires, pushing them to greater things. Some live in the dreams of others, the stories they tell, or the horrors they witness.

This is a story. You might be wondering then, if this is a story, at what point does it begin? Well, the beginning is wherever the viewer perceived it to be. There is always farther back we could go. So for the sake of having a story shorter than eternity, we shall start where the people in question might truly argue that the story begins...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Beacon Academy: Initiation Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beacon Academy. It is exactly what the name implies. A massive tower, glowing in the sky, a signal of hope and empowerment to all the Hunters of Vale. Just recently in fact it has accepted a number of students to fill its ranks. The best of the best, there to show that they are deserving of such a title, and to prove they are the best to the entire world. Currently, the students sit within their locker room, preparing for the moment they earn their right into the school. A moment viewed with anticipation, anxiety, excitement. These fill those that await their chance to shine...

Valance opened his locker to grab his weapon, the mirror on the inside reflecting his features back at him. He was average in height and stature, with brown hair slightly fallen over his eyes and obscuring his ears. His fiery pink eyes looking back at him.

Valance smiled as he grabbed the bow out of his locker, which automatically condensed into a simple metal cylinder that would fit on his belt. His belt had many more cylinders that would expand to form the arrows. An easy way to transport everything. Valance wore a cloak with a brown hood, black boots, and a dark green jacket over a brown shirt.

He had spent a long time making each and every arrow himself, along with collecting the dust necessary to make the worth the effort. Lightning, Fire, Ice, they all had uses and some were better used from afar, hence the bow. He didn't like using guns that much unlike a lot of the other students here, even now one of them had launched - possibly by accident as she apologized for it - a spear through the hood of another student pinning him to the wall. He had nothing against using he moment to power the force behind one's own blows, but the heat and effort they required was something he detested. Especially the heat, they were like furnaces if used to often in a single battle, and Valance hated the heat.

The locker next to Valance opened as another student arrived to grab his weapons. A familiar voice came over the speakers. "All new students please report to Emerald Forest Cliffside in the next thirty minutes to begin Initiation." Ozpin. Short, Sweet, and to the point.

"You excited for Initiation?" The guy next to Valance asked. The teen in question was dressed in casual wear; Jeans, a t-shirt, that was it. He was pulling fingerless gloves from his locker.

"Excited?" Valance replies, "I'm ecstatic, people don't get here without putting a lot of effort into it."

The teen looked at Valance, making eye contact for the first time. His eyes at first glance might seem normal, but his piercing blue Irish was compounded, made of a million tiny lenses to form the eye, in much the same way an ant or a fly would make up their entire eye. The teen was some form of Faunus.

"That's True. But I still intend to win."

"What does that even mean? It's not a competition."

A third student apparently overhearing them pokes his head between them, long blond hair falling over his tan skin as he did so.

"Everything is a competition. You don't think so than you're already losing!"

"Some people would consider it rude to poke your nose where it isn't invited Terrence." The Faunus answered back.

"You an' I both know it ain't ever invited anywhere Rush."

"We are all going to be late if we don't go to the Emerald Forest guys." Valance interrupted. "And no way am I going to be late for my first day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Emerald Forest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Emerald Forest. It sprawls itself outwards near the Cliffside. Beacon, as it does all things, overlooking it. An ocean of tree filled with fish that aim to kill. On th Cliffside, students, assembled, waiting, eager to dive in and show their strength. Entirely unaware that heir strength is nothing compared to the creatures that wait outside the walls of the kingdom.

Valance watched as Ozpin walked to stand in front of the row of students cane in one hand, mug in the other. "Your Initiation is simple." He started, "I have placed relics at the northern end of the Emerald Forest. Go in, retrieve them, and bring them back. Be wary though, the Emerald Forest is teeming with Grimm, waiting for helpless prey to fall into their hands. Do not be helpless prey, do not hesitate to destroy anything that stands in your way in order to achieve your goal." He straightened his glasses and took a sip of his coffee. "Their have been rumors about teams flying around. Let me put an end to those right now. The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the duration of your time at Beacon."

A collective gasp escaped the students. The first person? Valance didn't know anybody here well enough to tell if he would make a good partner. He hated relying on luck, it wasn't very reliable...

"I suggest you pair with someone you work well with. Now, are their any questions?" Without waiting for a reply Ozpin continued, "Very well then, good luck!"

With that the student farthest to Valance's left was launched into the air. The person to Valance's right raised his hand. He wore white armor and had a white sheath on his belt. He had sneakers and jeans and shaggy blonde hair.

"um...Professer Ozpin?" He asked.

"Yes Mr. Arc?" A small smile forming on Ozpin's lips as he waited for the reply.

"How exactly are to get down there?" Arc asked him.

"You will be using your own landing strategy" And that was the last Valance heard before the pad beneath him launched him into the air, leaving Arc to take that response alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inside the Emerald Forest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unwyn was fairly easy to please, at least at first glance he was. He worked hard, he achieved his goals. However, that was often easier said than done. For example, his current goal was to be one of the most outstanding Huntsman ever. The drive that pushed him to follow this goal like it was his religious purpose hadn't forced him into a perilous situation. One where he had been almost laughingly launched into a forest of deadly Grimm.

He was a well-built student, though not bulky, he wore dark blue gauntlets and similar light armor on his arms, legs, and torso. He had bronze skin, brown eyes, and black hair just short enough to keep out of his eyes.

He couldn't believe this. He had trained hard to get here, only to be immediatly launches into the forest and told to choose his friends wisely. Ozpin's definition of choose was 'accidentally look them in the eye.' Not a philosophy Unwyn necessaryly agreed with, seeing as luck was the only real deciding factor. He preferred to have more choice in the selection, but no matter, he needed to focus. What happened, happened.

Unwyn noticed what was currently happening was that a Beowulf was breaking the foliage in front of him. And it looked hungry. So did the five friends it brought along.

"Tell me," Unwyn addressed the mindless beasts, unsheathing his weapon of choice, a middle-length sword he had crafted himself. The black blade glowing with red and green streaks. When he had crafted it, Unwyn had melded fire and lightning dust into its very being, making a deadly blade indeed. As he gripped the blade with both hands, it caught fire, green lightning sparking in the deadly glow. "Shall we dance around the Dying Light?"

Thus, the dance began, the first Beowulf leading with a left-handed swipe. A fair move, but pointless against a master of his blade, Dying Light. He sidestepped, lifting the blade swiftly, removing the entire arm of the Grimm in a single move, the lightning from the blade traveling along the beast's body and finishing it. Unwyn couldn't stop there, five more Grimm approached.

Two jumped this time. The dance had now truly begun. Unwyn elegantly ducked under them with a sliding motion, bringing the Dying Light above him in a high arc, slicing them clean in half, and they hit the ground. They had not yet learned to dance the way Unwyn had.

The three remaining Grimm no longer hesitated, each one choosing a different method of attack. One jumped, the other dashed on all fours, the third came in swinging. Unwyn couldn't avoid them all, but he could bet on two out of three getting injured more than he would. He gripped Dying Light tightly,

"Welcome to my da-"

he was cut off by a loud shout from above, "Canonball!" The figure broke through the canopy and slammed into the Grimm, smashing them all into the ground with crushing force, his aura visible for a second as it absorbed the force of his explosive entrance.

He stepped off the pile of dissipitating Beowulves and looked Unwyn in the eye with his insect-like iris. "Hello There." Rush stated simply.

~~~~~Elsewhere~~~~~

Terrence climbed down from the tree he had landed in. Not as smooth as it could have been, he thought, blowing a strand of blonde hair out of his eyes. He wore a plain t-shirt, with a diagonal strap over his well-muscled chest. The strap held on the back, two sheathes for hand-axes with double blades. Small but efficient.

Terrance had gone mostly unhindered through the forest so far, but he knew that couldn't last forever. That was the point of the exercise after all. Well, that and to find whomever his partner was. The idea of partnering up for the duration of the time was a good one. New friends and good allies was never bad.

Terrence stopped. His semblance was a passive. Always active. It gave him Extra-Sensory Perception. He could just _feel_ when living things were near. It made the forest feel as beautiful as it looked. But this wasn't the dark feeling the Grimm made. It was a human. A human to his...right. Terrance turned and someone's slammed into him, bringing them both to the ground. Then he felt the darkness. It was right behind where the person had come from.

A Grimm. But not just any Grimm, it was a massive Boarbatusk. Easily standing over Terrance, even as he and the person that had run into him stood up.

"I don't believe we were properly introduced before being launch-padded." The other teen said, "Name's Valance. I heard Rush call you Terrance?"

"Yup." He confirmed. "So why'd you bring Grimm to my neck of the woods?"

"He didn't exactly listen when I said stop."

Before Terrence could reply the Boarbatusk burst into his field of vision, bending trees out of its way and crushing boulders. Its tusks curled into a fine battering ram, a white carapace covering the vast majority of the beast's back and head. It let off a ground shaking squeal as it saw its prey.

The Boarbatusk charged without a second thought, head down, horns up. Valance drew his cylinder from his belt as he ran to the side to avoid being trampled. The cylinder expanding vertically with a slight curve to make a steel bow, more cylinders from his belt turning into arrows.

Terrance stood his ground, drawing his two hand-axes and forming a cross in front of himself to distribute the force of the blow and hopefully slow down the large Grimm. It didn't go quite how he planned. Yes the Boarbatusk hit the axes head-on. No the Grimm didn't slow down. Instead, it plowed through him, running until it slammed into a large tree, pinning Terrance their with its tusks on either side, his axes now buried in the wood with the giant tusks they had so fruitlessly sought to stop.

Before the Boarbatusk could tear its tusks from the trees three arrows slammed into its underbelly. Arrows full of fire dust. They promptly exploded, causing the large Grimm to rear back, shredding the tree and freeing Terrance. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Terrance ran under the beast and spun, Axe blades swinging outwards, cutting all four legs from beneath the Grimm as another volley of arrows blasted it just to the side, preventing Terrance from being crushed.

"Easy Enough." Terrance said as they set off to find the relics...

~~~~~The Ruins~~~~~

Rush continued to march towards their destination, Unwyn following close behind. "so tell me," Unwyn broke the silence, "Why don't you bear anu weapons into battle with you?"

Rush didn't hesitate to answer. "I don't need a weapon. I have my own natural abilities to draw on."

"Sounds to me like you are an arrogant fool." Unwyn responded, "No man or faunus is so powerful as to never require the aid or advantage a skillfully used weapon brings to a fight."

"I wasn't trying to offend, geez man. No need to toss insuls like 'arrogant' or 'fool'. Besides, I take arrogance as a complement."

Befre Unwyn could respond to what Rush considered a witty comeback, they emerged in a clearing. It had in its center some ruins, in these ruins stood several pedestals. Each one carrying on it a chesspiece. White, black, all pieces from both sides were present, give or take a few.

"I presume we should choose a piece befitting our partnership." Unwyn stated as he walked overand started to examine each piece.

"Or maybe we could just pick one that looks really cool!" Rush replied reaching over and grabbing a white pawn.

"I suppose that piece accomplishes neither."

"I was just aiming to annoy you, but since it worked..."

At this moment Terrance and Valance entered the clearing.

"Hello Rush!" Terrance shouted as he rushed over and started to look over the pieces.

"Hi guys." Valance repeated. "Which piece did you choose?"

"The pawn apparently..." Unwyn Replied sourly.

"Then we too shall choose the pawn!" Terrance shouted as he dramatically grasped the only other one.

"What's with sour guy there?" Valance asked Rush as Unwyn facepalmed.

~~~~~~~~~~Later, at Beacon.~~~~~~~~~

"Valance Viro, Rush Ram, Terrance Thompson, Unwyn Uridon, you chse the white pawn. You are team VRTU (Virtue), led by... Valance!" Ozpin declared to the word. Rush, Valance, and Terrance high-fived each otherwhile Unwyn ignored them. they stepped off stage as the last teams were announced, team JNPR and team RWBY. Rush didn't know what else to think, othe than how epic the rest of the semester must be about to become now that he was on a four-man team. Terrance was glad to have been paired with Rush, he seemed fun. Valance was shocked to be tea leader. Unwyn was vaugely annoyed.

 **A/N: Bam! my first RWBY fanfic chapter out! It didn't have as much team RWBY as I would have liked, but that is mainly because I lost the notes to the original team, which would have been very differemt and they would have had different semblances and personalities too. Crazy how much it can change during editing...**

 **Anyway, please leave a comment, and if you like RWBY/Legend of Zelda crossover fanfics do me a solid by visiting my favorite writer's fic: 'Unknown Legends' (by KTWizard) and give that a read. Puts most everything else on on this site to shame with his writing...**

 **Pretty please leave reviews guys, I will always appreciate the support/criticism (or even hate) because I just like to know that people are interested in my fic because I have till Vol 4 planned out for ya'll. See you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: VRTU a step on the right path

A loud clang echoed through the halls of Beacon Academy. It wasn't long before another echoed down them again. The battle inside the training arena was intense. Between two people locked in furious combat.

One was named Pyrrah Nikos. Star pupil, the Invincible Girl, unbeaten in any test of skill. The other, was Unwyn Uridon. A skilled combatant but still not the same level as Pyrrah Nikos. Unwyn knew this. That was the very reason he had chosen to combat Nikos. He could not get better by fighting those of equal or less skill. Only by combating those he couldn't and adapting until he could win easily. No matter how hard he fought, Pyrrah seemed a step ahead. His sword swings a second short or missing by the tiniest amount. Her blade slamming with great strength into his, always forcing him back. He could never gain ground. Only lose it over time.

Unwyn collapsed as his aura entered the red on the large screen overlooking the training arena. Professer Goodwitch stepping forward. "The Winner is Pyrrah Nikos." She told the students.

Pyrrah walked over to Unwyn, sheathing her sword and shield, and extended a hand. "That was a great fight." She said, "Soon you may even be better than me."

Unwyn ignored her hand as he stood up, sheathing his sword on his back, "That is exactly what I intend to be." He lost. Time after time. How could he keep losing? He turned and walked away without another word, leaving Pyrrah looking slightly confused.

~~~~~In the Dorm Room~~~~~

Valance sat at the lone desk, staring at the roof of their dorm room. It wasn't a very big dorm, but it was large enough for their beds and luggage. One of the benefits of collapsible and easily stored weapons he supposed. He was supposed to be working on an essay concerning the Grimm, but he had not actually been listening to Professer Port's lecture.

Or he hadn't until that Weiss girl yelled at her team for giving what could only be described as motivational support from the sidelines. That had snapped him to attention. Too bad that was not helpful for the essay...

The dormitory door banged open and Unwyn stomped into the room.

"No luck?" Valance asked, distracted from his paper.

"I failed again. No one should be unbeatable." Unwyn threw his hands up in exasperation, "Yet still she stands!"

"Maybe, you should try fighting someone more on your level."

"No! That's not good enough! I can't settle for 'good.'"

"Okay Unwyn. We all have our strengths. We all have weaknesses. Maybe figure hers out before fighting her again."

"I have fought her time and time again, but I still haven't bested her. Whatever weakness she has is not so obvious."

"Not that I would suggest spying on other teams...buuut the Vytal Festival Tournament will be here before we know it..."

"I see what you are suggesting, but I cannot always have time to study an enemy."

"No, but she isn't studying you and she is winning, maybe try to do better than the best."

Unwyn turned and left the room again nodding to himself. Valance knee Unwyn would take the bait. His drive to be the best was more than his pride, ironically. Valance looked at the desk and realized he still had a blank sheet waiting to turn into a masterpiece. Maybe he should have asked for help from Unwyn rather than telling him to spy on people...

~~~~~In the cafeteria~~~~~

Blake Belladonna was currently seated beside her teammates in the cafeteria, across from team RWBY sat team JNPR. They had been eating and talking (in that order, Blake thought, noting Nora's eating habits...) for a while now, but the subject of discussion was clearly one that brought discomfort to Jaune.

"If Cardin is bullying you," Pyrrah started, "You need only let us know Jaune, after all, we are your team."

"Yeah!" Nlra stood in her seat, "Let's break his legs!"

"While I appreciate the offer Nora," Jaune began, "Cardin isn't bullying me. That's just his way of showing affection."

"Jaune, Cardin has done nothing but bully you since day one." Pyrrah sounded almost pitying.

"C'mon, name one time Cardin bullied me." Jaune dared before they all took a moment of silence, each recounting in their thoughts the 'pranks' Cardin had played on Jaune. "Besides, it isn't like he is just picking on me, he's a jerk to everyone."

As if to demonstrate Jaune's point, a girl yelped in pain. Blake looked at the next table over and saw Cardin pulling on a faunus' rabbit ear.

"Ha!" Cardin shouted to his team as they all laughed. "See? I told you they were real!" Cardin let go as the faunus girl left looking miserable.

Blake glared at Cardin. "People like him disgust me." She said, anger seeping into her voice. At that moment, a voice shouted above the cafeteria noise.

"Cardin Winchester!" All heads turned to look at the student standing on the centermost table. The boy had jeans and a black t-shirt. He had long black sleeves that came from under his shirt, implying that he was wearing two shirts. He had fingerless gloves and a cocky smile, his eyes looked off, but Blake couldn't tell from this distance what was off about them.

"I, Rush Ram, do challenge you to combat!" The student, apparently named Tush, shouted dramatically.

"Ha! You?" Cardin laughed, "I could take you anytime, anywhere!"

Rush jumped off the table and swaggered -not walked, swaggered- over to Cardin. "Right now, in the courtyard, all weapons allowed."

"Cardin stood up from his seat, towering over Rush, "Why should I though?"

"To beat those last brain cells into shape, after all, you couldn't tell what real ears look like." The cafeteria hushed, waiting for Cardin's response to the insult. Blake realized now that he was closer, exactly what was off about Rush. He had compound eye lenses, like that of an ant or other insect. He was a Faunus, which meant this wasn't a game. He had seen Cardin bullying Velvet and now he was mad...

"You want a fight?!" Cardin was obviously angered, "I'll beat the snot out of you!" He stomped outside pullin out his scroll and tapping in coordinates furiously, his weapon locker slamming into the courtyard and bursting open to reveal a massive mace, large enough to match Cardin's impressive size, easily dwarfing the weapons which Rush brought. That is to say, his fists.

Blake was worried now, as all the students rushed to the courtyard to watch the fight, she knew Cardin was more than strong enough to crush an average aura in a few blows. However, Blake couldn't agree with what the insect-eyed Faunus was doing. Either he lost, and made Faunus look bad, or he won and got the respect he wanted from Cardin using violence. She didn't like either scenario...

~~~~~~Elsewhere...~~~~~~

Adam Taurus was not happy. His appeal for more action against the humans had been turned down. The White Fang had been more aggressive since the old leader stepped down, but it wasn't enough. Faunus were still hated and disrespected. There wasn't enough fear of the Faunus. Not yet anyway.

That was why Adam was standing outside this small, pathetic excuse for a house in the middle of the night. It was rundown, and looked as welcoming as an angry Grimm. It was not built out of anything particularly sturdy, merely thrown together with wood and steel scraps, giving it a slightly intimidating look.

It was not the house, however, that brought Adam here. Rather, the occupant within. Adam straightened his suit as he knocked on the door, putting on his mask at the same time. The mask resembled the face of a Grimm. His scarlet hair was slicked back. His black suit had an emblem of a red rose.

There was silence at first, but than the sound of locks turning as the wooden door creaked open. The man who stood silhouetted by the interior light was just under six feet tall, and had a muscular build. His light brown hair was mostly obscured by a tattered hood he wore, likely to help ward off the evening chill. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, stubble covering his chin, and his clothes tattered like his hood.

It wasn't often that Adam felt the need to gain the goodwill of a human. They were, in general, a lesser species. Every now and then, one would come along that was halfway decent. This was one of them.

"Hunter." Taurus said curtly.

"Taurus." The man named Hunter gave nothing away in his expression. "I didn't think we would be meeting again."

"I want your help with a...project I'm working on."

"You know that I stopped helping the Fang after their change in leadership." Hunter answered.

"Not the Fang, me." Adam replied.

"If you bothered to track me down, then you know that I'm done helping anyone Adam." His voice cracked, "I can't even help myself."

"That is part of the reason I am here Hunter," Adam gave a sly smile. He rather enjoyed being in control. "You see, I know someone that can find your daughter."

Hunter's eyes rose to look at Adam's mask. The chestnut eyes full of hope, hardened by experience, and worn by grief. "What do you need?" Exactly the words Adam had hoped to hear, his smile widening some more...

~~~~~~Beacon Courtyard~~~~~~

Rush had greatly underestimated Cardin's skill. Maybe Cardin was dumb. Maybe he wasn't mean. But Cardin could wield his massive club to great effect. Rush had also overestimated his ability to get in close. While it was a melee battle, Rush was using his fists and Cardin had a three foot mace.

Tush ducked under a swing and tried to hit Cardin's guy, only for Cardin to step back as he brought his mace back around, forcing Rush to dodge it and give up his chance to land a blow.

"Ha! Can't even land a single blow!" Cardin shouted as a few members of the student crowd cheered. "What a waste of my time!"

"Well maybe," Rush replied cheerfully ignoring his disadvantage, "I am holding back so you don't look bad."

"Well soon you'll be looking like a crushed ant!" Cardin retorted, swinging his mace for a third time.

This time the mace managed to connect, the swing carried through Rush, lifting him off his feet and throwing him across the courtyard, his aura flickering. Not good, Rush thought, time for a plan B.

Even though the blow hadn't been crippling to his aura, he let it go. His aura disintegrated as his semblance absorbed its energy, turning it into physical ability. Rush's strength and speed greatly increased at the cost of losing his only defense against injury.

Cardin saw the aura around Rush dissolve. "Can't even take a single hit either, what makes you think you'll be a good Huntsmen?"

"Nothing." Rush answered as he got to his feet. A benefit from his semblance was that he didn't suffer from the side effects of aura exhaustion, no shakiness or fatigue, at least not till it wore off. "You see, I just think 'if Cardin can do it, why can't I?' And that gets me through all my hardships. After all, if you can, anyone can."

Cardin's face flushed with the insult. "Well allow me to inspire you then!" Cardin shouted angrily as he charged raising his mace and bringing it down with deadly force.

Cardin had expected Rush to fold under the blow but instead the arc his mace wasn't traveling was cut short.

"Fun fact about my Faunus heritage," Rush said as he held the head of the mace back with one hand, "I have the proportional strength of my Faunus heritage, the ant. Plus a semblance that boosts my strength. I'm out of your league Cardin."

Rush yanked on the mace, causing Cardin to stumble forward and loose his grip. Rush threw the mace behind him and lifted Cardin by his chest plate armor before slamming him into the ground. Of course, Cardin's aura ranked the hit fairly easily, but Rush had made his point. Cardin lay in his mini-crater with fear in his eyes. Not terror, but the fear that came with knowing the enemy was holding back.

"What is going on here?!" Uh-oh. That was definitely Goodwitch's voice...

~~~~~Team VRTU DORM~~~~~

Terrance could feel how tense it was in the room. Rush had apparently managed to anger Valance through his actions during the lunch period. After Professer Goodwitch had let him off with a warning (and a scolding) she had reported him to team leader and left them to their own devices.

"He was asking for it Valance!" Rush's frustration was audible, along with his exhaustion due to his semblance having worn off leaving Rush flattened over his rather small bed.

"It doesn't matter. We are supposed to be the good guys." Valance gestured to the team as he spoke. He was leaning on his desk.

"Good guys beat up those that aren't good." Rush stated. "Hence, beating up Cardin."

"Whom I should remind you," Unwyn interjected, whilst pacing around the rather cramped room, "is also training to be a good guy."

"Listen to me Rush." Terrance spoke from by the window, "Why do you think Cardin bullies people?"

"Because he is the bad guy." Rush put much emphasis on the word 'bad'.

"People aren't bad just because." Valance began to bring Terrance's point home, "People are bad because bad things happen to them and they want others to feel the same way they do. What you just did was bad. Cardin, the bully, is reciprocating bad feelings. Guess how?"

"Bullying." The defeated voice replied.

"Therefore, by giving him more bad, he has more to spread."

"Whatever, let's just move on." Rush raised his arm to flick his hand in defeated dismissal. Terrance didn't feel that was sufficient but Valance didn't press the subject.

"While you are all here," Valance began, "I think we need to reevaluate ourselves as a team, mostly because we don't seem to be one."

"Indeed. We cannot hope to compete in the Vytal Festival Tournament if we work divided while the others work together." Unwyn agreed.

"So from now on, we are training for three hours every weekend. Together. Starting today."

"Three hours?!" Rush practically shouted from his now face-down position on his bed.

Terrance sighed. He knew Rush was sore from 'losing' the argument about Cardin. It would be fairly difficult to persuade Rush if he didn't have a weakness that was easily exploitable. Say maybe..."I will buy the whole team ice cream after training."

Rush launched off his bed and pointed to the door, "Then what are we waiting for? Three hours aren't gonna kill themselves!"

"Good idea Terrance." Unwyn acknowledged, "An appropriate time of recovery and team bonding will make for a balanced training routine."

Valance took his weight off the desk and opened the door allowing Rush to dash out. "Great idea Terrance. Don't make this sound boring or he won't agree anymore." The last part wasn't obviously directed at Unwyn causing him to huff at the accusation.

"I was merely stating a fact." He gracefully slid through the open door and ran off to join Rush, with Valance and Terrance following behind.

...Unknown to them, the school was being watched. By people who wished to do harm, by those that wished only to protect others, and by those desires were as of yet unknown. One of them was sitting at a desk, in the highest room of the tallest tower. His name was Professer Ozpin.

Professer Ozpin wore crooked glasses, had gray hair hanging in his eyes, and worked a green scarf to matche his dark suit. In one hand he held a mug, filled with steaming hot coffee, in the other was a scroll, with a message containing information from one of his most trusted sources.

The message was short. It didn't need to be long. The weight of the words was enough to make Ozpin's expression harden.

 _The Dark Rose has the Crystal Hunter._

 _Author's Note: Thanks for reading guys! I didn't meant to take so long to update the second chapter, but given the holiday season and work/school all ganging up at once, I have fallen a little behind. I hope you guys are enjoying this._

 _And I know, I know, a lot of people view Adam Taurus through a negative lense. Especially since his character seems to have no particular arc at certain points in the series. However! I still enjoy his character, and I think I can come up with a way to get the exact same results as Rooster Teeth got with Adam but actually make it understandable by writing from his perspective, a view we don't really get from RWBY._

 _Also, Team RWBY will be slowly becoming more regular rather than side characters. It is important to remember that in this story, they are side characters. I don't want to wreck canon too badly, but I don't want to retread what has already been done by Rooster Teeth. Gotta find that balance, and I might have, at least for Volume 1 & 2\. _

_Anyways, leave a review guys! 35 looked over Ch. 1 and gave me nothing to work with! I love to read hate just as much as everything else! Throw it down guys! If a bunch look at this but give nothing, I can't improve..._


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